Lyndon Davis, Leah Barclay and Tricia King

Murang Ngai

When I think of Floating Land, I picture installations tucked around the shore at Boreen Point, nestled amongst the vegetation. With this series of artworks interpreting native animals, I love imagining that I’m discovering a creature in its natural habitat. I might catch a glimpse of it through the trees first, or perhaps hear hints of it, before I get close enough for a good look.

There’s a similar process of discovery the more you learn about how the artwork was created and I’ve really enjoyed peeling back some of those layers. At first glance, it just looks like a beautiful abstract pattern. Then you notice that there are textures and colours reminiscent of a creature. Dig a little deeper and you discover that the specific pattern is based on the sonic vibrations of the creature’s call.

I’ve previously only seen the patterns made by sound waves in internet videos where cornstarch bounces around on speakers. I love that this artwork has pushed that weird and wonderful phenomenon further, and mashed up the patterns with photos of the creatures. After all, patterns are all around us in nature, in ferns and seashells and butterfly wings. This strikes me as a very contemporary interpretation of the relationship traditional custodians have with country.

This year’s theme of “Us and Them” is very timely considering how much division there is in the world. Seeing the beautiful result of melding together two extremes like ancient knowledge and cutting-edge science makes me wonder how else we can use art to bring people together.